Fools’ Watch: Twisted Pixel Partners with Home Depot

A breakthrough in marionette controller technology has been made!

This is why April Fools’ Day is both a blessing and a curse. On one hand we get treated to some ridiculously creative and hilarious “announcements.” While on the other, we can’t trust anything considered “news” on this day. April Fools’ Day is the internet’s national holiday, after all.

So leave it to Twisted Pixel to fire the first (and possibly best) shot, faux announcing that they have partnered with Home Depot to create a new marionette controller for their upcoming Kinect title The Gunstringer.

The new controller, previously codenamed “Project 144in. x 1-1/4in. Pine Round Dowel,” lets you bring the feel and texture of professional marionetting to your living room, says the official press release. This new controller will also withstand the “hardest stresses that virtual marionetting can provide.”

Here’s your first look at the innovative controller that “ushers in a new era of controller-free gaming.”

The remainder of the fake press announcement is littered with a slew of top notch quotables. So instead of just paraphrasing them here, we’ll just leave you with the rest of Twisted Pixel’s statement verbatim. Leave it to these guys to find a way to make a toy stick relevant and cool again.

TWISTED PIXEL AND HOME DEPOT ANNOUNCE MARIONETTE CONTROLLER

Unprecedented partnership breaks down barriers between gamers, puppeteers, and home renovation enthusiasts.

Austin, TX – April 1st, 2011 – Twisted Pixel Games announced today, in partnership with Home Depot, a new marionette controller for the upcoming Kinect title The Gunstringer coming 2011 for the Xbox 360 and Kinect.

The new controller, previously codenamed “Project 144in. x 1-1/4in. Pine Round Dowel”, brings the feel and texture of professional marionetting into your living room. Made of professional grade pine, The Gunstringer Marionette Handle Controller is built to withstand the hardest stresses that virtual marionetting can provide.

“This groundbreaking partnership with Home Depot truly ushers in a new era of controller-free controller gaming” said Mike Wilford, CEO of Twisted Pixel Games and member of Home Depot’s Home Improver Club. “When Barry from Home Depot’s lumber section told me about the ‘rustic flair’ and ‘attractive wood grain’, I knew instantly that we had to get these rods into the hands of marionette aficionados everywhere”.

While only announced mere paragraphs ago, The Gunstringer Marionette Handle Controller has already taken the Kinect controller market by storm. Official Marionette Monthly says “With The Gunstringer Marionette Handle Controller, I can finally experience the feeling of hard wood clenched in my hands without having to visit a seedy downtown performance venue”.

The Gunstringer Marionette Handle Controller is available today from all 2,244 Home Depot stores for $2.17 MSRP. Only authorized Gunstringer Marionette Handle Controllers work with The Gunstringer. Accept no substitutes. Some assembly and sawing required. Click here to order now!